Glass Rose
by larkinlover
Summary: H i n a H i t s u fic. Birthdays, prezzies, sake, kisses, rainbows, and glass roses. Fluff-masochists, this is the story for you. :3 For the Destiny Competition, HHFM


For the HHFN Destiny Contest. R & R! Enjoy!

Btw, Prompts are: Clouds, Rose, Destiny.

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Momo Hinamori looked up at the sky as she ran. Dusk had come in a chilly manner today, and the gray, thickening clouds had begun to worry her. The steady-going slap of her sandals hitting the ground as she raced through the Seireitei main courtyard was accompanied by the continuous beating of her heart, as it worked furiously to support her labored lungs. She'd been running for a while now, and with good reason. Shiro-chan had sent a hell butterfly with an urgent message, simply stating that she had be at the 10th Division barracks as quick as possible. The young lieutenant increased her pace exponentially until she found herself shunpo-ing through the path she'd set mentally for herself as she remembered how importunate the message had sounded.

At long last, Momo found herself at the barracks. Twisting and turning through the corridors at a speed that only years of practice could provide, she quickly arrived at Toshiro's door. Knocking briefly as she stepped through, she noticed the unusual dimness the room was clouded in. Suddenly, a light was switched on.

"Otanjou-bi Omedetou Gozaimasu*, Hinamori-chan!" shouted a tidal wave of voices, the greeting crashing down on her ears like one of the most pleasant pile-drivings of her life. Rubbing her ears, Momo squealed when she saw the banner proudly proclaiming, "Happy Birthday Fuku-Taicho!" Streamers and balloons ordained the various surfaces of Toshiro's office, and confetti fell from all points of the ceiling, dropped by a kido spell. The colorful pieces of shiny paper mixed with the glowing energy of the spell created a unique kaleidoscope effect, pleasantly blinding all who gazed at it with the shimmering hues. And smack dab in the middle of the rainbow caught in his room and the ridiculously large crowd gathered in it, stood her snowy-haired lifelong friend, Toshiro.

_[*Happy Birthday]_

He was almost smiling, his usually furrowed brow smooth for once, every care in the world seemingly forgotten. He had grown somewhat, standing just barely taller than Momo, and she could see straight into his startlingly teal eyes, which seemed to be almost laughing with the light reflected in them from the confetti magnifying the happiness within. His usual white haori was absent, laid forgotten on the back of a chair somewhere. All in all, this was a different Toshiro from the one she encountered in their day-to-day routine, and she loved him for it. He looked like he did back in the days of the Rukongai, when all they had to worry about was if they could beat each other in their watermelon-seed spitting contests, albeit a great deal more mature, muscular, tall…

Her thoughts were interrupted by a sudden loss of air as familiar arms pulled her in a bone-crushing hug. She could hear Rangiku trilling into her ear, her excitement quite apparent. "Happy Birthday Momo-Chan! I can't believe I actually got Taichou to plan this party for you! And by the way," her voice dropped down to a whisper as she leaned in to Momo, "I slipped him some stuff to let him loosen up. Didn't want him to spoil your birthday with the ice prince façade, and you can consider it your birthday present." She winked at a stunned Momo as she pulled away. After a moment of shocked silence in her head, Momo laughed in her thoughts. _No wonder!_ She thought, smiling a tiny smile as she did so. Her reply was simply, "Thanks…Shiro-chan hasn't looked so relaxed in too long."

Rangiku grinned, and made room for the other party-goers. All her friends were here, along with most of the 5th and 10th Divisions. Renji, Kira, Rukia, Ichigo, Ikkaku, Yumichika, Byakuya (shockingly), Unohana, Ukitake…the list went on and on and on. She was surprised that they had all had actually been able to fit into Toshiro's once-spacious office.

Momo was smiling, looking at the face of every person who had cared to celebrate her birthday with her when suddenly, time seemed to slow down as a white-headed figure made his way through the tide of people that had seemed to blur past her. He fought valiantly until he was directly in front of her, and before he could say anything she pulled him into a hug that could've rivaled the ones Rangiku had become infamous for.

"Thank you so, so, much." She whispered.

He grinned, a true grin that seemed rare on his face. "Heh. Glad you like it. Matsumoto only had to nag for a week or two…then she persuaded me and moved on and sicced Byakuya."

Momo giggled. "Wouldn't you have done it anyway?"

He blushed. "Why, of course. Whatever made you think otherwise?"

She laughed and hugged him again. "Either way, it's beautiful. And you look nice, tonight. Happy."

He smiled, closing one eye and cocking his head to the side as he scratched it bashfully. "Yeah, I do feel a bit different. I wonder why?"

Momo was spared from answering when Matsumoto's voice rang out. "Time for presents everyone! C'mon, Momo! Taichou actually bought sake for all of us for afterwards!" this proclamation was met with hearty cheers from everyone, and everyone pushed Momo and Toshiro up front until she stood before a mountain of colorfully wrapped presents, him by her side, grinning.

Momo laughed at how ridiculously tall the pile was. Murmuring a quick incantation, a small present at the top was encased in the pink energy of Momo's kido as it floated downward, to be followed for the next half hour by everything under it.

Momo's cheeks were flushed with happiness when the last present was finally unwrapped, and many cheered when they realized that there were no more. Smiling weakly, she yelled out an exuberant thank-you to everyone, freeing them as they all streamed for the table with rows of sake bottles, Matsumoto in the obvious lead.

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Several hours later, the party began to disperse when Unohana ushered an unconscious Matsumoto, Ikkaku, Renji, Amagai (who'd passed out at the very beginning as the vapors of the sake reached him) and near-naked Kira, Shushei, and Byakuya (him quite unpleasant) into Minazuki for a heavy detox session. Many found it best to leave at this point, what with the sake gone and the look in Unohana's eye getting dangerously nurse-like. Momo bid farewell to each and every one of them excitedly until her throat was hoarse. Finally, Unohana took off with Minazuki, being the last to leave. Exhausted, Momo plopped down onto the office's plush, though slightly stained couch.

She was in a pleasant reverie, about to fall asleep, when suddenly a hand shook her shoulder. She opened her eyes to see Toshiro's icy blue ones staring down at her, a bemused look on his face.

"Have fun?" he asked.

She laughed out loud at this. "Fun? That was the best birthday party of my life!"

He smiled as he sat down at the foot of the couch, propping her feet onto his lap. "Good. I wanted it to be that way."

They sat in a comfortable silence until a realization hit Momo. "Hey, you never gave me a present!" she exclaimed, play-kicking him in the gut.

Toshiro laughed, rubbing his stomach. "Yeah, I was hoping you wouldn't notice that. The thing is…I'm leaving for a trip to the living world tomorrow and it'd be better if I gave it to you right before I left." He seemed sad, almost uncomfortable as he mentioned the trip.

Momo pouted. "Fine, but it better be good, Shiro-chan."

To her surprise, he didn't contradict her pet name for him for once and they lapsed into another silence. This time, it was broken by him.

"Momo…?" he asked, uncertainty laced in his voice.

"Mmm?" she answered. She had closed her eyes, and had been about to fall asleep again.

"Will you miss me?"

She opened her eyes and stared at him. "'Course I will, baka Shiro."

He smiled faintly. "Good…because this is a long term mission. I'll be gone for seven…years."

She gasped. "_Seven_ years?! Why didn't you tell me?"

He shook his head as he answered. "Those idiots at Central 46 didn't notify me until yesterday."

Momo fumed silently, her thoughts so furious that she didn't notice that an uncomfortable pause had stretched out for some reason. Toshiro snapped the tension by clearing his throat.

"Momo."

"Yes…?

"Can…can I try something? Since…I'll be gone so…long?" he spoke slowly, suddenly sounding quite nervous.

Not trusting her mouth to speak, Momo merely nodded as her heart rate increased somewhat.

He didn't say anything as he gently sat her up by her shoulders. He paused for a split second, and leaned in.

Before he could even touch her, Momo leaned in the rest of the way without hesitation, her eyes closed as their lips softly touched. Not expecting her to act, Toshiro's eyes widened in shock at first, but he quickly recovered and deepened the kiss. As she kissed him, Momo gently put her weight on him so that he slowly sank down into the couch, her on top of him. They kissed for what seemed like an eternity, the thrill of finally recognizing their feelings coursing through both of their veins. Finally, she broke them apart.

She smiled at him, laughing internally at the dazed look in his eye. She whispered, "Do you think it was always meant to be?"

He nodded slowly as he broke out of his trance. He spoke thickly at first, as if his tongue no longer knew how to operate involuntarily. "Yeah…" As his voice grew stronger, his brilliant eyes focused on her more. He smiled. "What else could've it been? It was…destiny."

Momo snorted. "Now you're just getting corny…"

He blushed.

She smiled and tapped him on the nose. "But I love you for it." She pecked his lips and then snuggled comfortably into his chest, breathing in his cool, clean scent. It reminded her of rain. Pure, cold, clean, rain.

They fell asleep like that, breathing in each other's scent. In the early morning, with the faint dawn's sunlight streaming through the window, Momo fuzzily remembered Toshiro silently waking up, draping a warm blanket on her, kissing her hair, and murmuring, "Sayonara, Bed-wetter Momo."

When she finally fully awoke, Momo looked around and wanted to punch herself. The last time she'd see him in seven years, and she'd slept through it! She screamed into the pillow, until finally her anger was vented. As she sat up grumpily, she noticed a small note on the table.

_Momo-chan,_

_Go to that waterfall we visited as kids, and look behind the falls. Your birthday present will be there, something to remember me by. Happy birthday._

_Shiro_

Pressing the note to her heart, Momo quickly got up and shunpoed her way to the falls he spoke of, folding the paper that bore his instructions and tucking it into her robes. It really was an out-of-the-way place, and it took her a while to find it. Finally, she heard the gentle roar of the cascade of water, and followed it until she found herself at quite a nostalgic place. The morning sun, now full-fledged, cast rays of light that danced on the surface of the pool of water and in the waterfall's crystal-like surface. Sunlight streamed through the leaves, making the forest seem alive and vibrant. Momo vaguely remembered a nook behind the curtain of water that Toshiro used to hide in as a kid, and made her way there. When she looked behind the fall, she gasped.

Tucked carefully between two rocks, there was a glimmer of light. Reaching in and extracting the mysterious object, Momo almost cried. It was a glass rose, with colored green glass as its stem and leaf and pure, clear crystal as the blooming bud. Shards of light created rainbows in the masterly crafted layers of glass, dancing just like the rainbows from the confetti at the birthday party that felt as if it took place eons ago. And etched intricately in everlasting ice that Momo recognized as Hyourinmaru's, two small messages bolding proclaimed themselves on two separate petals. On the smaller of the two, it simply read, _Happy Birthday_. However, the message on the largest, most beautifully done petal was the one that set her heart apounding. Momo gave up fighting and cried tears of happiness as she pressed the fragile treasure to her heart, the image of the inscription burning itself permanently into her memory.

_Love you, Bed-wetter Momo_

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Phew! Hope you enjoyed, please review! For the HHFN Destiny contest.

Aw Toshiro's happy in this one. =)


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